If you choose Christianity purely on the basis of acceptance into Heaven, to live in eternal prosperity, then that is a sign of greed. You're selling your soul to the highest bidder without any sort of semblance of true kindness or compassion. There is more wrong with religion than just the massive amounts of logical fallacies. It has always been used to control people and stagnate intelligence. Atheism offers an open mind; it offers freedom of thought. For a more artistic and emotional point of view, this video offers several examples. Science Saved My Soul. - YouTube
I didn't know that wasting an hour a week is considered a waste of a life... Most religious people, and I'm talking about Western civilization doesn't go to church on a daily basis for 3-4 hours... Rather once a week... Of course a quick Google will tell you that only 43% of Americans go to church at least once a week. [br][/br]Edited by merge: You're generalizing way too much here... I didn't know being atheist suddenly makes you smarter, and more aware... I don't think religion affects either two.
How is it greed if I want everybody else to have it? The reason why I posted in the thread was for an advertisement into Christianity. Woah, wait, Atheism offers an open mind and freedom of thought, right? Well, why can't I think that there is a God that exists that created me?
An hour a week for 70 years adds up to a lot of time wasted. **** that. I'd rather be experiencing something actually worth putting my time and effort towards. But, I suppose you might be into that, and I'm all for you wasting your time with what I would call nonsense. It's just not for me. I'm going parachuting this Sunday. Sorry, Jesus.
And you still have a closed-mind for 23 hours a day if you like surrendering to God, because that's what he asks of you. It's nice that nobody read my post on the last page about the origins of morality in philosophy. Thats what i ask of you if you want to try and be an atheist. ****ing read it.
That's a really smart response... Yes, well I'm sorry but technically we are all wasting our lives then, watching T.V, playing games, chatting with friends, walking around the park, reading a book (fictional). But hey, let's bias it on the religious for wasting their lives... Because while the religious are out praying, the rest are doing one of those, which is clearly subjective in its entirely on how much of a waste of a life it really is... [br][/br]Edited by merge: Also I don't see why we can't cut back on the insults, I don't see the point of calling religious people insane, batty, or fanatics... I can't really find an insult in the last two pages made by a theist... You guys are being too hostile...
Exactly. If Earth broke out into a super world war tomorrow, the universe would still be here. It would be such an insignificant event in the universe. I would sure as Hell miss In-n-out burgers though...
So according to your belief you can break every one of the rules in your religion not to mention basic humankind rules and as long as you accept Jesus you go to heaven? That seems fair. You say it as if "live the life you want" is full of debauchery and sinful acts. Being religious or not shouldn't prevent you from "living the life you want to live", like I said the only difference is a religious person will blame their good will on their chosen religion instead of an innate will to do good. Different discussion with someone else I'm saying thinking that "if I'm wrong I will be punished so why risk it" is what causes stagnation of thought, not the morals of the Bible, not sure why you linked those two things together. The difference is government people are not divine deities. A president of a nation is not intrinsically better then me and infinitely more all knowing then me, they may be better educated have more expertise, and be in better situations then me but they are no different then me as a human being. So you can't really make that comparison as its an apples and oranges topic sure "controlling people" is a loose connection but is a stretch to make. EDIT: And Matty, I've only made like a dozen or so appeals to human morality and its innate nature of personal reward without the need of a religion
I was addressing Pascal's idea. If someone, any individual, chooses to participate in Christianity solely because it has more to offer for the after life, despite the effects the decision has on their current life, that's a sign of greed. Pascal's wager is essentially a trick to convince people to join Christianity; while Pascal's idea emphasizes the benefits of being a Christian in the afterlife, it presents no solace in life before death. There is no evidence of an afterlife, and the concept isn't even logically sound, so not only is Pascal's wager an impossible gamble, but it encourages people to ignore atheism and its philosophies by latching on to the fears and desires of the ignorant. Pascal was a good con-artist, I'll give him that. You have every right to think that. If you want to consider yourself a slave to some higher power that doesn't even exist within the realm of logic, be my guest. However, you misinterpreted my words, so let me be very specific: An open mind means that you are open to all ideas, and you choose to believe the ideas which make the most sense logically. An open mind is one which recognizes the importance of critical analysis and evidence; a closed mind is one which ignores any information presented and continues to believe in something blindly. Freedom of thought means that you are free to think what you want. As a Christian, you cannot think that God does not exist, and you cannot believe in any other Gods, or he shall condemn you to Hell. That is not freedom of thought. I didn't say that it makes you smarter or more aware. I said that being an atheist is to have an open mind, while most religions, including Christianity, promote a closed mind.
I don't see how being afraid of punishment will affect your actions if they are of good intention to begin with. What exactly does the bible say you can not do that would lead to a halt of thought. It doesn't say you can't study the past, or that you can't study astronomy. The only thing I can think of is evolution. Which in all honesty isn't stagnating progression towards the future. Not that I support the idea that evolution should be discredited. I believe in evolution. What I meant by control is the justice that the government may give out that controls you, the fear of jail, fear of death. The government decides what is legal, and what is not. The government in technical term then defines what is moral, and what is immoral.
So during the Holocaust when Hitler made it a law that people had to give up the locations of Jewish people or else face the same fate as them, that was then morally good? A government makes laws for its people to follow but what is moral and what is immoral has nothing to do with government....at all.
Well, the government has the option to defend a moral action or an immoral action... Such as how a dictator can detain and torture... I read Matty's quote, I understand the error I made... Won't happen again boss ^_^
The entire basis of religion, faith, is the idea of accepting something without a second thought. If you only do what you're told to do, and never do anything new or out of the ordinary, then no progress can be made. Religious persecution of new ideas has always happened throughout history - I mean, ****, think about the Dark Ages. A government is a body of people, though a body which is chosen based off of intelligence, trust, and ingenuity. While it may conduct its affairs as a unit, the truth is that all government actions are the decisions of people. It's why we see things like the Occupy movement to protest government corruption. Oh, and this is a bit of a digression, but if you're making the God = Government analogy, think about what's happening in this country right now. Thousands of people are finally coming to their senses and fighting back against the government; thousands of people are tired of being told what to do when they know that it's the wrong thing to do. Think about the founding of the United States. Had the settlers not spoken out against their government, they could not have progressed to what America is today. Only by speaking out against the norm can progress be made, and with religious doctrine in mind, if you speak out against God's Will, then you are to be banished to the far-reaches of Hell. That is how religion stagnates freedom of thought and progress. No great achievements have come from monks or preachers, but rather from those who chose to think differently.
Well the Dark Ages was not Christian, but Catholic... It was the end of the power of the popes that brought an end to the Dark Ages. Ron Paul